prothane or energry full bushing kits

[starscreem]

ok well i am torn on witch one to buy. i need one of the sets asap cause my rear upper knuckle bushings are torn out. my question is based towards people that have these kits in there car. first i know the prothane has more bushings but what bushings are not in the ES kit. what kit is better for a dd car. also how hard is each kit to install. i do no the ES kit is all one piece bushings and the prothane is split piece.

 

[greengoblin]

ok well i am torn on witch one to buy. i need one of the sets asap cause my rear upper knuckle bushings are torn out. my question is based towards people that have these kits in there car. first i know the prothane has more bushings but what bushings are not in the ES kit. what kit is better for a dd car. also how hard is each kit to install. i do no the ES kit is all one piece bushings and the prothane is split piece.

I have done both kits several time. I like the prothane kit for easy of installation and being a more comprehensive kit. It's the better of the 2 IMO. Make sure if you do install the prothane kit that you do not install the shock mount bushing in the front lower control arm. the one the dampener fork bolts to.

I also found that my car road much better with either kit so in that aspect you can't go wrong. The urethane bushings can actually pivot unlike the vulcanized OEM units. It's a great upgrade.

Installation is not that hard though it is time consuming. My car is a toy so I just did a little at a time.

 

[97gst_spyder]

I love the prothane total kit. Easy install, and replaces all the bushings.

 

[starscreem]

heres the reason i am asking !!!!!!!!!!

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i no how to take everything apart and do all the work needed to do a full bushing swap. my big question is what bushings are not in the ES kit that are in the prothane kit. i just want to see what really makes them different parts wise cause they are about 70.00 apart in price. and i know the ES kit is a pain in the ass to do seance they are a one piece design. i really am just going to order the prothane. just had a few questions that's all !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rockbmx1]

The prothane includes the rear control arm bushing. Its a pita to remove the control arm, but it will stiffen up the rear more. The prothane set has slightly denser poly then the ES kit, most people say that if you have a dd then go ES and if you have a weekend warrior then get the prothane kit. I personally have the prothane kit and prothane motor mounts. The install is easier with the prothane kit too btw cause of the split bushing design.

 

[starscreem]

ok so from every thing i have read and what greengoblin said the only bushing in the hole kit i should not install is the one for the front shock fork in the straight lateral arm. am i right on this or is there a few other i should skip. i plan on just doing one rear side on a Saturday and the other side on a Sunday. then do the fronts the same like a week or 2 later.

 

[greengoblin]

All but that one.

 

[daren_p]

ES kit would just be missing all the rear lower control arm inner bushings (2 per side so 4 total). I just bought new rear arms (ones that adjust toe) & then new OEM bushings for the front rear arms when I did my ES kit, so all bushings would be new. As for install, Prothane are split but the ES are sinple to install with a bench vise as well. Its removing the stock OEM bushings that will be a huge pain unless you have a hydraulic press. The ES kit is abit softer so most recommend for a DDer but lots use Prothane as well.

Just make sure, with either kit you get a proper alignment done after the bushing install as it will throw your alignment way out & eat tires in no time.

 

[Only2G4Me]

Bringing up kind of an old thread here, but I am looking into getting the prothane bushing kit for my 2g. I already have the engine mount inserts and I love them. I was wondering though, I haven't seen a picture of the bushing, but why should you not install the one in the front lower control arm as mentioned above?

 

[97gst_spyder]

It gives a rougher ride and from people say it shortens the life of your front struts. I installed all the ones with the kit.

 

[untouchablecc]

I just installed a full rear Prothane set on my car two weeks ago. I bought the master kit an went through this decision. Do not install the bushing directly below the shock like everyone has said. All of my rear bushings were about spanked and causing bad tire wear. I daily my talon 50 miles round trip to school and back and i can tell you that after the first week of install the car softens up a lot. With the prothane it was rock hard for the first week but now it almost rides like stock. I also have tokico illuminas turned all the way up an it still doesnt ride bad at all. Im really happy with my Prothane kit an plan to do the front in the spring. It is a pain in the ass to take the old bushings out. My tips for getting the old ones out are as follows. Buy a good sawzall if you dont have one. Get the thing blades to get inside of the metal bushing and cut straight down through the rubber and into a small metal sleeve. I went to busy beaver to get the blades an found 1 bi metal blade that was small enough to fit in the old bushings. Once you cut through the first sleeve an through the rubber the second sleeve is not thick so watch you dont cut to far into the arm. If you cut completely through the second sleeve you should be able to tap the entire bushing out with a hammer.